a. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sterilant system and method for sterilising surfaces.
b. Related Art
Two-part sterilising solutions are used in applications where the active sterilising ingredient is unstable over time. The solution is therefore prepared in situ shortly before it is to be used. A particularly important sterilising agent is chlorine dioxide (ClO2), which may be formed from mixtures of various reagents including: chlorite and acid; chlorate, peroxide and acid; and chlorite, hypochlorite, and a suitable buffer. Chlorine dioxide has excellent sterilising and bactericidal properties, and oral ingestion in man and animals has been shown to be relatively safe.
WO 2006/079822 describes a two part sterilant system having two reagents, each of which is put up in an aqueous medium in its own container. The aqueous media contain a foam promoter, and actuation of a single trigger dispenses each part as a foam. Mixing of the foams allows the reagents to react together to form a sterilant such as ClO2 in situ.
The effectiveness of two-part sterilant systems in conventional trigger sprayers can be reduced if the spray action does not result in the delivery of an identical volume of each reagent medium, resulting in an excess of one reagent in the mixture. Delivery of different volumes is particularly likely to result when the dispensed media are of different viscosities.